


Forever in your Heart

by CostumersDelight (CostumerDelight)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Death, Found Family, Grieving, Keyleth lives a very long life, Loss of loved one, but it's not sad, druids have like forever lives, everyone dies, long life, maybe a little sad, minimal dialogue, timeless body, vox machina - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CostumerDelight/pseuds/CostumersDelight
Summary: Keyleth left Zephrah thinking she would not have anyone that would leave her behind in their death. She was very, very wrong.
Relationships: Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Taryon Darrington/Lawrence
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	Forever in your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> this was just a random cursed fic idea that I started writing in Widomauk server and had to keep going on it. I cried so much writing it. Death is something I personally have issues with and don't cope well with. but this was nice to write.

Keyleth was always going to live longer. She knew this from the day she could transform into a tiny white tiger cub. She knew druids, attuned to the natural magics of the world, would have elongated lives if they pursued mastery of their abilities. But she didn't think about that too much. Not until her mother disappeared on her Aramente, and Keyleth was sent out to complete her own. But she didn't fear it. She only had her family and village, so it wasn't like she would leave behind too many people.

But then she met Tibbs, and then she met Vax and Vex. Then was Scanlan and Grog, and eventually Pike. And then there was Percy. And then Tibbs left. She didn't worry about him, he would be fine. But the rest stayed. And she grew to love them and cherish them. Pike died first. But she was brought back, so things were fine. Keyleth completed one step of her Aramente.

Then Grog died, but Pike was alive, and she was there to bring him back right away. They tried to be more careful, and for the most part succeeded. Keyleth completed another leg of her Aramente, and Vax loved her, and then the Conclave attacked, and they couldn't save everyone. But they tried. They started looking for ways to fight back, and found so many leads. But then Vex died, and Percy felt horrible, but Kashaw was there and he brought Vex back right away. But Grog's sword took him again. They promised not to play with cursed swords after that.

Percy went next. They had just finished his mission, and he was down. But Pike was there, and she brought him back. Soon she knew they would fight the Conclave. They tried so hard to prepare. Plans and spells and armor... but they lost Vex, and they lost Scanlan. They were brought back, they were fine. Thank Pike, thank Sarenrae. But it wasn't over. They lost Scanlan a second time, and he wasn't back immediately. They fretted. Keyleth was so upset. But the ritual worked, and he was alive.

They had lost Percy again, too, but he was brought back so fast, so fast by Pike, as if she had to prove she could do it still since Scanlan didn't come back at first. But they were all alive... but Scanlan left. That hurt almost more than if he had died. He left with his daughter to places unknown, and... vanished.

But they met Taryon, and he was a delight. Took some getting used to, but Keyleth didn't mind him sometimes. Most times. He went with them to the last leg of Keyleth's Aramente. She was so close, so close to the end of her travels, to finding out about her mother. But no mother, no answers. Just a kraken that had to be avoided, who attacked, who killed her love but thank Pike she brought him back. Aramente completed.

She was the leader of her home, now. So much responsibility, so much. But she carried it with as much grace she could. Pike's family was odd. And the diamond was gone. They always needed diamonds, Keyleth knew, so she dove. She didn't see it coming, she could see it coming, a goldfish? Didn't expect it...

And then Vex was over her, frantic and crying and Keyleth hurt. But she was alive. Thank Taryon for his coin.

Scanlan showed up in their lives again. It was great! It felt like the world was returning to peaceful times. But Scanlan had sought them out, because of Percy’s finished business. It was no longer finished. And Keyleth had almost gotten used to living a peaceful life again.

It was time to save the world. And Keyleth swore they would all stay alive, she had to hope. But Vex was killed, and Vax turned to dust. But Vax returned. He returned with less than life, but more than dead, but he was back. And they began the chase to talk to all the gods to help fight Vecna.

Keyleth was not happy, then, when the archfey asked to kill Vax. But she hoped that Vax was not wrong. And when he returned 24 hours later, she was relieved. She didn't think she could handle his loss again, but knew she would have to eventually. She could feel her life extending, she knew she would outlive them all. And then they fought Vecna.

They didn't die. They almost did, so many times. But they lived. Except, Vax had left. Not even a body remained, as he went to the Raven Queen.

Later, when Vex and Percy were preparing for marriage, she drowned. But thank Pike, absolutely brilliant and wonderful Pike, she was back. There was no way to stop this wedding. Keyleth felt a bit jealous, but she loved her friends, even if Vax wasn’t there.

But then he was, so changed, yet so much the same. And she knew he would always come to visit her, as he had been since the day he left. He was as timeless as she was, but in a different form.

Her mother came back. She actually came back, and Keyleth was so overjoyed. She had her happy ending, she had her family. She told her mother all the stories of her friends, her found family, of Vox Machina and the people they met, the lives they saved, the world as a whole. 

Grog was the first to go, goliaths being so short-lived. He died as he lived, brave and strong and loyal to his friends. He had been watching Pike and Scanlan’s kids, his nieces and nephews, when he decided it was a good time to nap. And he never woke up. Pike couldn’t bring him back, this time. He had no unfinished business to take care of, no adventures to take, nothing. It was his GoFiBePo meals, they had finally caught up to him. They mourned him. Keyleth still mourns him.

Tary died in Wildemount on one of his adventures. His brigade was fighting bandits attacking a refugee camp, and he fell in battle defending a group of children. Lawrence knew who to contact when Tary passed, and he was ready to host the remaining Vox Machina members in their… his home. They brought baked goods and gave their condolences. Doty stayed by the side of the grave until he shut down for good. Keyleth grew a blanket of moss over him, to keep him secure with his best friend.

Percy was next. Humans did not live as long as others. Vex wept for months, but she knew her brother had been there for Percy at the very end, as a raven had deposited one single feather in Percy’s sleep when she awoke and he did not that cold winter morning. She stayed with Keyleth for a long while afterwards. Keyleth made sure to write down his history in her journals, so that he could live on as humans do. She could not forget his words from Westruun. She would not forget.

Pike was the next one to pass on. It was many, many years since Percy had died. Almost a hundred since the end of their adventuring days. She passed in childbirth, and if that didn’t just suit Pike. Her life for another’s, and she passed with a smile on her face as Keyleth and Vex and Scanlan wept with both joy and sorrow. Scanlan was a mess, but he held on for his children. They all supported him, and he supported them until they were grown and on their own. And then he was just gone. Vanished, like smoke on the wind. Keyleth later would find that he had gone to a bar and sang and drank, and went to sleep. He never woke up, died of a broken heart.

Her parents passed on peacefully, living out their days in Zephrah. They fell asleep together and passed in the night. Raven’s feathers were found on the both of them, and the raven that visited Keyleth every day had a sad cry, but Keyleth was becoming used to it now. She gave the raven a peck on the head and thanked him for being there for her mother and father at the end.

Keyleth and Vex visited one another every month since the end of their adventures. Keyleth would transport to the Suntree and meet Vex with baked goods, or with mulled cider, or with bottles of wine, or Vex would take the gate stone and teleport to Keyleth’s home, appearing laden with gifts and gadgets that her children had created in the mirror of their father. She was so proud, so proud of her children. Sometimes when Keyleth would visit, Zahra and Kash would be there. Or Gilmore was visiting. Or someone else that they had befriended along the way, and each would remark about how Keyleth hadn’t aged a single day. She knew she would live a long life, and she hoped and prayed to deities beyond her understanding to keep her friends alive with her. Everyone passed on eventually, but she still had Vex. She still had her best friend.

But Keyleth knew Vex’s time was coming. Her hair was streaked with silver, now, and her skin was losing the lustre it once had. She still maintained the noble aire she always did, and her winks were still enough to persuade stingy merchants. As they grew older, after Percy passed, they grew closer, and at times Keyleth felt they were more than just friends. She never asked, because confirming it would break her heart when she knew Vex was also going to slip through her fingers. So she kept her feelings tight to her chest and took and gave whatever Vex asked when they would stay together.

It was a sorry day when Vex was supposed to arrive, but who showed up instead was Vesper, the eldest, with a handwritten note from Vex. Keyleth wept with the young de Rolo as she teleported them to the Suntree and cried beneath the green boughs, rich with life that Keyleth no longer felt she had within her. Vex had been injured during a hunting trip and was brought home carefully, but the wounds were grievous and lethal, and she denied any cleric’s help in healing her. She could not send messages as Keyleth did, and determined that this was her end. She was at peace with it, and she wrote the note for her dearest and oldest friend the night before her passing.

It was an apology for not being able to be with her for longer. For all the times she had given her grief about Keyleth and Vax’s relationship, and for not telling her sooner how much she loved her. That it was her deathbed confession. She apologized for how much it was going to hurt to be left alone. But Vex also thanked Keyleth for being there for everyone, and for being there for Vax. She would be so happy to see him and their mother again on the other side, with Pelor’s grace, and to see Percy and everyone else. She then apologized, knowing now that Keyleth’s abilities would extend her life for another thousand years, and that she would be waiting for her when her time finally came.

Keyleth saw the fall of countries and the rise of nations. She witnessed new deities spring forth to pick up where the ones she had met personally no longer could help. She watched as adventurers fought against the tides of evil. Keyleth stayed a strong leader, choosing the next headmaster from her village with care and pride, giving her the same speech her father had once given her about the importance of the Aramente, and sending her off. She knew she had only a few years left of being the leader of the Zephrah clan, and she was ready to pass on the mantle.

The young one returned, with her own group of misfit adventurers, with news of the world after her first aramente task was complete. As she spoke, Keyleth couldn’t focus as the group she had returned with were distracting. They were so similar to her own days, some of them bickering amongst each other, some silently watching while making plans for the next venture, and others carefree. Keyleth gave her protege the encouragement she needed to continue, and sent her and her friends off through the same tree Keyleth would always use.

The next time the girl appeared, she stood taller. She wore her battles in her confidence, as did her companions, and she announced the completion of her aramente. Keyleth performed the rights to pass on the title and mantle of Voice of the Tempest, and divested herself of the mantle she wore for now a thousand or more years. When she looked at the group gathered beside the new headmaster, as she spoke and gave her agreement to protect the village and nature and all that was expected, Keyleth saw the raven return in the trees above.

But not just a raven. A large hawk, grey, with strong coloration; a golden hawk beside it, smaller, but no less gleaming. A bluejay, with sharp eyes and a wisp of white plumage where it should not have been. A small bluebird with a cap of white and a purple starling together, the smallest of birds she could spot. A pair of cardinals, one vibrant red and one a muted brown, nestled on a lower branch close to her, singing sweetly with the rest. And finally, a magpie with a spray of blue plumage behind its eye. All looking at Keyleth as she gazed back.

From that day, the raven was not the only one that visited her. With her duties passed on, and only the day to day running of Zephrah still before her, Keyleth stayed near that tree as she spoke to the birds, talking as if they were friends. But indeed, to her they were. Many more years passed, certainly different generations of these birds visited her, but Keyleth saw them much the same every season.

When her vibrant red hair had faded to a glistening silver, and her skin had become leathery and sun-worn from her centuries of life, she was just as beautiful as the day she set off on her Aramente and would meet her best friends in her life, and, as she laid down beneath the tree for what she knew would be her final time, the birds all settled in around her.

She swore it was a dream when she saw the raven grow and extend a familiar hand to her, leading up into the arms and face of her Vax’ildan as he smiled fondly upon her. Beside him, all the birds became her friends, her family and loved ones, reaching out to her with smiles, with tears of joy, all looking just as wonderful and bright as the day they retired from adventuring. Grog with Scanlan and Pike on his shoulders, laughing with a stein of ale; Percy and Taryon on either side of Vex’ahlia, Percy with his hand on her waist, hers on his, with Tary smiling to the side and gleeful; and her Vax’ildan, taking her hand and picking her up from the base of the tree.

“Gods, Kiki, you look just as brilliant as ever,” Vax’s voice drifted, ethereal to her ears as she felt her body lighten. “Oh, how I have missed you these long years.”

“I’ve missed you too, Vax, all of you,” Keyleth cried, tears springing forth. “I’ve missed you all so much.”

In a breeze of wind, onlookers to Keyleth’s final moments would see the mismatched flock of birds take off to the air with an eagle’s cry from far above, soaring together to the familiar and yet unknown lands beyond the Summit Peaks, with snowdrops growing in around the peaceful, still body of Keyleth of Vox Machina.


End file.
